Like dead petals
by Littleboltling
Summary: Brought over from my AO3 account. For almost a millennia he had been alone, ruling hell. He watched those above with jealousy. He sees something he has to have...and he always gets what he wants eventually . Since I didn't put this in the chapters I wll just state, I don't own Naruto or any of the mythologies this story was based on.
1. alone

The throne he sat on was cold and hard, much like his heart. Eons ago he had carved it out of the very stone that the temple itself was made out of. It sat, the lone fixture in the expansive, and hollow room, save for the small viewing pool. The pool sat at a few feet from the base of the throne so he could watch the happenings of the world of the humans above. The water was a dark black like almost everything else in the room., and only showed the world above. There he could watch the puny mortals as they lived, sinned and died.

He sneered as he leaned his head on his hand, watching the pathetic creatures above. The gods had created these stupid beings and for what? What was the purpose of them? For the overruler, his once best friend , it was to make himself feel wanted. It was pathetic. And now here he was, imprisoned at his job while the other gods got to live in the heavens where it was bright and beautiful, while he sat in this cold prison of his life, sending the dead to their fates.

He watched as the current mortal he was keeping an eye on went about his daily life. The old man was at the end of his life and would soon join them in the underworld. There he would face his judgement and either be sent to the heavens above or stay in eternal hell. So far from what had been observed, the old man would be heading up. All the less responsibility for him and all the more responsibility for his brother, keeper of the heavens .

'

With a flick of long, elegant fingers the pool wavered and the old man disappeared, only to show a new person. The new man was lanky, with a scar over his eye and a ridiculous looking beauty mark, but the thing that stood out the most was the fact he was no older than 30 or so but had a shock of silvery-white hair that stood up at absurd angles. It made the corner of the death god's mouth quirk up in amusement, Once in a while he would find a human that intriegued him more than the rest. They would keep him amused for a couple weeks, sometimes even a couple months, but eventually he would bore of them.

This silver-haired man was currently sitting at a coffee shop with a steaming mug of black coffee and reading…was that porn? The smile on the god's face broadened. Such an amusing man, reading inappropriate material in broad daylight. It even made him border on a laugh. The door of the coffee shop slammed open and the silver haired man turned to grimace as a loud blond boy burst into the shop yelling. "HEY KAKASHI SENSEI!"

Behind the blonde loudmouth strolled a broody looking teen with black hair and a very familiar face. The death god finally let out a peal of laughter which rang through the empty room. That dour looking teen was a descendant of his though very VERY distant. It was almost uncanny how much the youth looked like his younger brother. The god silently wondered if the boy had awoken the god's eye yet. It was an inherent trait that humans descended from his blood inherited. When the blood was purer, almost every child could use it, but times had changed and bloodlines had sullied and now very few even knew of it's existence. He turned his attention back to the scene at play.

The silver haired man, whose name he had gathered was Kakashi, gave a brief smile and waved at the boys. He let out a brief 'Yo' before his dark gaze looked at the door again as if he waited for another person to enter before turning to the two again.

"is Sakura not here?"

His descendant made what sounded like a 'tch' sound, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes, while the blonde came to sit next to Kakashi as he answered.

"yeah she had to find a parking spot so she droped us off at the front. She'll be here in a bit."

Kakashi nodded his head and set his porn down beside him out of the view of the younger men. He leaned forward, arms resting on his knees and a smile gracing his lips. His eye seemed to crinkle when he smiled, a sign of his age perhaps, or maybe just a sign he smiled often. The god would never have either of those problems. He did indeed smile and even laugh but it was so rare now a days. And of course he would always look the same age unless he wished to look different.

"How has life been in college?" the silver man asked the two pleasantly. The blonde boy lit up and began to chatter.

"Oh man Kakashi-sensei! It's been absolutely amazing! Sasuke keeps telling me I need to shut up and study but there's so much stuff to do! I'm even thinking of joining the…."

The blonde rattled on but the god's attention, and apparently kakashi's as well, was drawn away by the ring of the coffee shop's bell. A pink haired girl rushed into the shop, looking around with wide green eyes before spotting Kakashi and the two boys. A smile grew on her petal pink lips as she hurried over.

The god exhaled shakily. When had he started holding his breath? The pink girl, assumingly named Sakura, which was very fitting, was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He leaned forward and grabbed his chest. His heart had fluttered. When was the last time that had happened? Obsidian orbs roamed the girl's figure,taking her mortal beauty.

She was an average height for a girl, but that was the only thing that was average about her. She was feminine but strong with a lean yet defined figure. It looked like this mortal had trained years in some sport or other. Her skin was almost porcelain and it complimented her eyes and hair. Those brilliantly jade green orbs that sparkled with life and that short-cut rose-pink hair. Normaly he preffered his women with long flowing locks, but it seemed to work best on her. It showed her sporty side but at the same time the soft pink hue kept it from looking too boyish. But what made him even more entranced was the fact she was indeed mortal, she had flaws, a scar he saw on her hand, small breasts, a slight cut on her leg, yet all of that was beautiful too.

He had seen goddesses who couldn't hold a candle to her and as her voice rang out, it only seemingly got better.

"Kakashi-Sensei! Good morning!"

Kakashi smiled as he saw the girl.

"ah Sakura-Chan! Good morning."

At this point the god tuned the chatter out. Stunned, he leaned back in his throne and called out in a booming voice.

"OBITO"

The large intricately carved doors swung open almost immediately and a man in a eswirled, orange mask hurried in. He wore a black cloak with red clouds on it, the uniform of his disciples. He fell to one knee, pounding a fist on his chest.

:"yes Madara-sama?"

The god pointed to the pool where the girl still was in sight as he spoke.

"I want her. Bring her to me. I've found my mate…my queen. Send your best to fetch her."

Obito knew exactly what Madara wanted him to do. He bowed his head in respect. No other words were needed, even a verbal consent. If Madara wanted. Madara would have.

:


	2. the coffee shop

Sakura dashed to the door of the Kohi Coffee shop. The boys and she were meeting their old Sensei. She was excited to see the man again after the couple years of being away. Kakashi not only was their ex-sensei, but really their savior as well. He had taken three misfits that had been deemed hopeless and through much work turned them into valuable young adults.

Her vibrant green eyes lit up as she saw the silver-haired man slouching as usual, obviously hiding some smutty book that he had been reading. It almost made her giggle, remembering when Naruto had revealed to Kakashi that his godfather was the creator of the famous porn book Icha Icha Their Sensei had begged, threatened and finally bargained for a signed copy of the book. They had avoided homework in Math for two weeks.

She smoothed her red skirt and sat down in the big, comfy chair sitting across from her three boys.

"Kakashi-sensei! Good Morning!"

"Ah Sakura-chan. Good Morning,."

As he answered her greeting she took in the lazy way he had dressed, sweatpants and a wifebeater. Ever since she had known him, he'd never dressed as a proper teacher should. It had gotten him in trouble with the principal many times, but looking back on it Sakura supposed that it may have been one of the reasons they trusted him so much. Not the dress so much but the fact he could stand up to authority and get his way without even having to do a thing.

They had been separated into his class as troubled students in their Sophomore year of highschool. Naruto had been too much even for poor Iruka-sensei to handle, always disrupting class, playing pranks and being incredibly lazy at other times. Sasuke on the other hand had what was deemed as an "attitude" problem. But what no one saw coming was Sakura's problem. She'd kept it hidden relatively well until freshman year. It started when she'd been picked on as a child but Hormones and teen drama made her anger issues dramatically worse. She had been a goody two shoes and a straight A student but after throwing a desk at Inuzuka Kiba , there was no going back.

Kakashi had managed to balance them all out and even introduced Naruto and her to their mentors. If it weren't for him she would have never even thought of entering the field of medicine. She would never forget that and she was sure neither would Naruto, who was striving to be a great political leader like his father had been.

"Sakura are you with us?"

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts as Kakashi's voice brought her back to reality. She blushed as she saw all of them watching her curiously. She laughed embarrassedly and waved her hands in apology.

"Sorry guys. This reunion just made me get lost in the past there a bit."

Naruto laughed and nodded in agreement.

"yeah! It's been so long since we saw each other Kakashi sensei. We're so glad to hang out with you again."

Sakura's gaze glanced to Sasuke who was looking away, but a small smile graced his lips. She knew he was nostalgic too. He was never one to express his feelings, but there were subtle hints. It made her happy to know he felt the same way as they all did.

"You guys are grown now, you don't have to call me sensei anymore you know. Makes me feel old."

Kakashi complained and Sakura let out a giggle. He was right though, they all were adults now and now that she thought about it, when had this man started looking so handsome? She had never noticed it but he must work out even though he was verhyscarecrow-like in appearance, he had muscle. Did he secretly work out while reading his porn? There was only one workout she could even think of him doing while he read those books. Why was she even thinking about her former sensei doing that?

She supposed she was maturing, she was over Sasuke and moving on to other men. One of those had been Rock Lee, the bushy browed boy she had scorned in her shallow youth. She had started dating him shortly into college, and while he had been an amazing lover, there was just something about it that felt wrong. Their breakup had been amicable and they remained friends to that day.

Still, why was she thinking weird things about Kakashi?

Caught in her own thoughts, while Naruto rambled on about his politics class and how he was passing it with flying colours, she glanced up at the coffee shop window and jolted.

There in the window, staring directly at her was a man. Her spine straightened and she clenched her fists. There was something wrong about this man. Not only his looks, which were indeed strange, but the leer he was giving her, lustful and murderous.

He had bright white hair, slicked back and wore what looked like a black robe, like monk's but with red clouds. Half of it was off his shoulder and the left half of his body was exposed from the waistup. He was finely muscled, and if it weren't for that look on his face she would have even thought him attractive, but the giant triple pronged scythe in his hand put the thought clear out of her mind. Itdid NOT look like a prop

"Sakura?'

A soft voice drew her gaze back to the boys. Sasuke had finally spoken up, his face as blank as ever but his tone giving away his concern. Naruto had stopped talking and all three stared at her.

"Are you okay Sakura-chan?"

Naruto gently asked leaning forward.

:you went pale all of a sudden."

Kakashi added in. Sakura pointed to the window shakily as she answered.

"That man he's staring at me."

The three boys turned around to look at the window then Kakashi and Naruto turned to look at her, looking even more worried. She looked up and almost cried out in shock. The man wasn't there anymore. It had only been one second there was no way short of literally dive-rolling out of sight he could have moved away so quickly. Naruto gave a gentle and reassuring smile as he tried to calm her.

"You've been studying too hard Sakura-chan. What have I told you about pulling all nighters? "

Sakura frowned and glared at Naruto.

"I know what I saw Naruto! There was a man there staring at me."

Naruto cowered away, he knew the pains of making Sakura mad. She may habe been a girl but her punches were massively strong for her size. Kakashi jumped in and, as he always had done, diffused the situation.

'Well, we have the whole weekend, lets all go do something together. Get out of this shop before the owner kicks us out for not ordering anything."

Naruto brightened up and nodded in agreement.

"yeah! Let's go to the fair ground and ride some rides!"

Kakashi looked at Sakura for approval and she sighed and nodded.

"okay Let's go."

Kakashi turned to Sasuke, who still stared out the window, his eyes narrowed, a frown gracing his lips. He gave a non committal 'Hn' and Naruto jumped to his feet in excitement.

"allright! Let's GO!"

Sakura noticed Kakashi's worried glance to Sasuke but he got up and held out a hand to her to help her get up. She took his hand and gave a faint smile in thanks. Sasuke also rose to his feet and they headed out of the shop. Still there was a niggling worry in the back of Sakura's head that wouldn't leave. She had been so sure she had seen that man. What did he want? Was she going crazy?


	3. the festival

The bright lights and smells of food swam around the hot Konoha night, but Sakura seemed numb to it all. As the four walked down the long lane of games she was yet again distracted, looking out into the distance as if searching for something. Kakashi kept his eye on her, worried that his young friend was a bit too distracted. The incident at the coffee shop had really distressed her and even the fun of the fair was not cheering her up.

"look at that Sasuke! Want to go try that out?"

Naruto's exuberance had not diminished in the slightest the moment he had reached the fair, dragging all of them on ride after ride. Now it seemed a test of strength had captured his attention and the gods only knew this meant the start of another couple hours of running from thing to thing. Kakashi wasn't sure he had the energy to handle that again. He had to think of an exit strategy and quick.

"Tch, those things are rigged. You know that right?"

Sasuke's annoyance was palpable, but as usual Naruto seemed not to notice, or perhaps at this point not care. Kakashi watched as the blonde boy turned to Sasuke, hands on hips and laughed in the way only his Godfather could have imparted to him.

"BWAHAHA you're just scared I'll beat you! Come on. Let's see who's stronger!"

Kakashi sighed, this was his chance, He waved a hand to catch the pair's attention as he spoke up.

"Well boys, I feel a bit hungry. Sakura, why don't we let the boys have their fun and we can go sample the food vendors?"

Sakura snapped out of her distraction from the mention of her name and, without even realizing what she was agreeing to, nodded her head. Kakashi smiled and turned back to the two boys, Naruto looked excited and Sasuke annoyed, but before the black haired youth could complain, Kakashi grabbed Sakura by the shoulders and steered her away fom them calling over his shoulder.

"Have fun you two! Don't break anything and meet us in an hour at the main gates!"

He steered a completely confused Sakura away from the seemingly endless row of games and towards the food stands. When the boys were out of sight he let out a relieved sigh and turned to Sakura when she called his name questioningly.

"Kakashi Sensei?"

"Are you hungry Sakura? Let's get a snack. My treat."

Sakura looked at him dubiously and he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. When they had been younger he had more than once taken them to eat then ditched them with the bill as a form of punishment. He scratched his chin, looking away from her, not wanting to see that skeptical look on her face.

"No tricks. I promise."

Sakura nodded and they started walking along the row of food stalls. Each one emitting a pleasant smell of festival food. The silence grew uncomfortable between them and Kakashi coughed.

"Tell me when you see something you like."

A few moments of silence passed again before Sakura suddenly stopped and shyly grabbed the back of his shirt and tugged. The movement caught Kakashi off guard and he turned to look at the smaller girl with wide eyes.

"Can…can we get some Dango and Taiyaki?"

Sakura looked over at the stand with the sweets and Kakashi let out a chuckle. He had certainly thought something more filling wood be her choice but who was he to deny her? Especially when she had looked so cute when asking. He had always been hard pressed to deny his female student anything.

Ten minutes later Kakashi walked beside a grinning Sakura, who helf two sticks of Dango, a Taiyaki and a candied Ume, which she had also managed to find. She looked pleased with herself as she savored the treats and Kakashi couldn't help but smile at her child-like glee. She may be an adult in body….and boy had she become an adult in body…but she was still as cute as the little girl he had always known. Which made him hesitate. What were these new feelings for her that had developed? How could he look at her as both a child and an adult? It tore him apart and suddenly their roles had reversed. Instead of Sakura looking distracted and worried, he found himself in the same position she had been in earlier.

They wandered mindlessly until Kakashi suddenly felt her grab his hand and he looked to her. Sakura held his hand, but looked over towards the Ferris Wheel that had been set up. She turned to him and gave a soft smile.

:Let's go ride the Ferris wheel. Okay? My treat"

He laughed and nodded, being pulled over to the large ride. The line wasn't too long, which was nice, but it seemed to be comprised of young couples. Kakashi suddenly felt old and hesitated. He stopped, tugging her hand to pull her back to him. His onyx eyes looked concernedly back into her green ones as he asked her.

"are you sure you want to do this with me? People might get the wrong idea if they see us like…you know…"

Sakura's face turned a bright red, understanding his meaning and she looked away from him for a few seconds, obviously mulling over her choice before giving a small laugh and pulling his hand forward again to continue their path to the wheel.

"Let them talk, I don't care if even Ino saw us and spread rumors like she does, it's no one's business but ours if we're on a date or friends or whatever."

They boarded the little two man carriage, Sakura holding his hand the whole time. They both were silent as the ride slowly headed up and up. Almost at the top Sakura let out an amazed breath as the whole festival was revealed. In the darkness the twinkling lights were beautiful and Kakashi could see them reflected in her eyes, which Kakashi could swear was more beautiful than the sight below him alone. He wasn't sure when it had happened but he knew he was starting to fall for his old student.

Below the wheel stood the silver hairred man from before frowning as he watched the two figures on the Ferriswheel.

:Well shit…"

He hissed under his breath, not that anyone could hear him, or even see him. In fact the people of the festival seemed to walk right around him without realizing it was happening.

"The little bitch is falling for someone…Jashin-sama won't be happy…I better be quick or else this is gonna turn into something…more"

Thirty minutes later Kakashi and Sakura wandered to the main gates where they saw a mound of trinkets, fish and stuffed animals sitting around Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke had his arms crossed and looked…pissed off more so than usual actually. Narto was tapping his foot and the moment his sky blue eyes took in Sakura and Kakashi he pointed an accusatory finger at the two and yelled.

"You said an hour! You're LATE! Sakura-chan I thought you'd at least keep Kakashi on time!"

Sakura blanched and looked at her cell phone, apparently not realizing how late it was. Naruto grabbed all his things, having a tough time holding it all. He huffily started marching towards the street.

"I'm bringing this to Hinata, I'll see you tomorrow."

Kakashi laughed and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. Sasuke looked at Sakura and motioned to the things by his feet.

"I don't have a girlfriend….Sakura you can have this stuff."

Sakura looked at all the things and smiled, stepping forward and taking a bagged group of three fish. She held it out to Sasuke

"At least take these… They'll keep you company at college."

Sasuke blankly stared at Sakura but eventually reached out and took the fish. He nodded to Sakura and Kakashi and walked off. Sakura gathered the remaining trinkets and stuffed toys, of which it seemed like there was way too many for her to carry, but she managed non the less, she had always been strong. She turned to Kakashi and smiled from behind the mound of stuff.

"Goodnight Kakashi. I'll see you tomorrow."

Kakashi had noted her drop of the Sensei honorific and felt pleased. He watched her walk off. He slumped, putting his hands in his pockets, it was time to go to his suddenly increasingly lonely home.


	4. Chapter 4

She was in a grand ballroom surrounded by people in navy blue. They all seemed relatively familiar, but their eyes were a horrifying red with three tomoe spinning around and around. No one had looked at her yet she could feel someone watching her, a horrifyingly cold presence.

She had seen a flash of silver had to be Kakashi. She tried to reach him, but the crowd would shove her this way and that, keeping her from the familiar man. Just when she thought she was lost again she saw Sasuke and a boy whom she remembered as his older brother Itatchi. She had cried Sasuke's nname but when he turned to her, his eyes were that same spinning tomoe.

A hand grabbed her from behind and she was pulled into a firm chest and she looked up to see the man who had terrified her at the coffee shop window. She let out a shriek and the man grimaced.

"Stop making such a fuss. Just come with me to Jashin-sama's side."

He snarled as he started dragging her towards a black door she hadn't seen before. The cold and tremendous presence was coming from it. She didn't know what was behind it but she did NOT want to find out. She dragged her heels and wrestled against the silver haired man, shouting a continuous volley of "no".

"Stop struggling and accept your fate!"

The man hissed as he had trouble holding her. As she continued to struggle her feet turned and managed to trip them both and they went tumbling to the floor. The man let out a yell of surprise and Sakura took it as her chance. She elbowed him in the nose as she turned to get up. She turned to run but the man's hand grabbed onto her leg and she fell once more.

"damnit you pink haired BITCH! THAT HURT!"

She looked back to see his other hand covering a very bloody nose. A small smirk of triumph graced her face for a moment before he brought his other hand to climb up her leg and over her, pinning her down to the floor.

"LET GO"

She screamed as he climbed to his feet, taking a hold of her hair and yanking it so she would rise to her knees.. He stood over her snarling.

"I swear to Jashin-sama. if he didn't want you so much…'

"HIDAN"

A voice boomed from the black door, which was swung open by some mysterious force. Inside she could see two red eyes, similar to the ones everyone else had but different at the same time. Sakura let out a blood curdling scream.

She woke up from the dream, sweating and clenching her fist. Bolting upright she took a gasping breath. Shakily Sakura looked around the dark bedroom, the only light being emitted from the alarm clock to her right. The numbers showed the time was only 2:20 in the morning, she'd only been asleep for three hours. She sighed and ran a shaking hand through her hair.

The dream had been so real. She could even feel her scalp was tender. Her hand shot to the night stand beside her and fumbled for her phone. Flipping it to face her, the screen lit up. Sakura hesitated, she wanted to call someone, but who was the question. Naruto was probably sound asleep and when he was sound asleep not even an atomic bomb could wake him. Sasuke would probably grumble about her bothering him and hang up on her. She knew Ino, her best friend, was on vacation so she didn't want to bother her. That left her with one option.

She searched through her favorites and hit the button. Putting the phone to her ear she let it ring. Once….twice…three times. She shakily exhaled. This was a stupid idea, what was she thinking. She pulled the phone away from her face and was about to hang up when the sound of the ringing stopped and a surprisingly awake voice came from the other end.

"Sakura?"

She smiled at the hesitant voice. Of course he had her number saved so he knew it was her, but the question of why she was calling so late hung unsaid in the connection.

"Kakashi…I'm sorry did I disturb your sleep?"

Even to her own ears her voice was soft and shaky.

"No you didn't wake me,"

The answer came right away and she knew he was lying. He had always mysteriously been a very light sleeper, even falling asleep during study hall. Naruto at first had tried to take advantage of it, but learned very quickly how easy it was to wake up their teacher. So much so to the point where the three of them wondered if he was actually sleeping at all or pretending.

"Are you allright?"

Sakura frowned at his question. Was she allright? That dream had certainly rattled her, but was it worth calling her former Sensei at 2 in the morning?

"Sakura?"

She snapped out of her silence and took a deep breath.

"Sensei…I had a dream…I know it sounds stupid…but it terrified me…more than any nightmare should. It felt so real…and…and…"

A gentle voice interrupted her, soothing her.

:Its okay Sakura, take a deep breath and tell me."

Sakura started to tear up. Her voice shook as she described the dream to him. Kakashi silently listened to her as she spoke. At the end of the recitation, she couldn't help but cry tried to hold it back though. It was upsetting, yes but even so she didn't want to bawl and hurt the poor man's ears. She was not the crybaby little girl pining after Sasuke anymore.

"Sakura…most dreams are a compilation of memories, thoughts, worries and feelings. I'm sure this was scary, but it's obviously your mind just trying to release the thoughts of today. You had a scare and I'm sure it got to you. But don't worry. I'm right here if you need me. If you're ever in a dream like that and can't reach me, just call out my name. I'll be there for you."

Sakura inhaled, holding her breath in surprise. She flushed from those last few things said. He'd always be there for her. She knew it was happening at the Ferris wheel, but had written it off as a girlish attraction to an older man. She thought she had been overthinking it, there was no way he was attracted to someone so much younger than him. But this…

"Kakashi…."

"Do you want to see a movie tomorrow before we meet the boys?"

The question caught her off guard. Had he just asked her out?

"I….okay…what time?"

Sakura nearly slapped her forehead. What was that? She couldn't be saying yes. However, there she was making a date for tomorrow with her ex-sensei. She knew Sasuke and Naruto would flip if they found out she was doing this.

"How about their earliest movie? Somewhere around ten, we'll figure out what to watch when we get there."

She nodded, dumbfounded, then realized he couldn't see her and muttered a short.'okay'.

"Alright then Sakura…get some sleep…and remember if that nightmare comes up again to just call for me. Good night Sakura."

"Good night Kakashi."

The phone went silent as he hung up. She could only stare at it in wonder. Had she really just made a date? She flopped back onto the bed, holding the phone to her chest. A giggle rang out from her mouth and her hand flew to cover it. She was blushing, she was already nervous and giddy. Apparently Kakashi had been the right call. He had distracted her from her fear. Smart man. She liked that about him. She was almost certain she wouldn't have another terrifying dream. That is if she could even fall asleep. She had to plan an outfit for tomorrow after all…


End file.
